Portraits of "The Whiteman": Linguistic Play and Cultural Symbols Among the Western Apache

by Keith H. Basso, Dell Hymes (Foreword)

'The Whiteman' is one of the most powerful and pervasive symbols in contemporary American Indian cultures. Portraits of 'the Whiteman': linguistic play and cultural symbols among the Western Apache investigates a complex form of joking in which Apaches stage carefully crafted imitations of Anglo-Americans and, by means of these characterizations, give audible voice and visible substance to their conceptions of this most pressing of social 'problems'. Keith Basso's essay, based on linguistic and ethnographic materials collected in Cibecue, a Western Apache community, provides interpretations of selected joking encounters to demonstrate how Apaches go about making sense of the behaviour of Anglo-Americans. This study draws on theory in symbolic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and the dramaturgical model of human communication developed by Erving Goffman. Although the assumptions and premises that shape these areas of inquiry are held by some to be quite disparate, this analysis shows them to be fully compatible and mutually complementary.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Linguistics, School, College, Read For School, Academic

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 1979

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

humor and power

Unless you have a special interest in linguistics or Goffman's dramaturgic model of human communication, you may feel the idea of this book too specialized to engage your interest. If you aren't interested in anthropology, you probably won't be reading this review anyway. My suggestion to readers is---start from Chapter Two, read the rest, enjoy the author's cartoons, and don't forget the Appendix either. Then go back and read Chapter One. The book will make a lot more sense and you will know what the author is talking about.
The Apaches find the behavior of Anglo-Americans bizarre and often insulting. The "portraits" referred to in the title concern little dramatic skits put on spontaneously by one person to a) pull someone's leg and b) express commonly-held feelings about whites. Such skits or "portraits" can create animosity if the butt of the skit is not close to the performer. If close, then the proximity is expressed through the butt's toleration of the fun being poked at him (i.e. "he can say what he wants, but we're still friends"). Though Basso strangely does not touch on the subject, perhaps out of consideration for his hosts and friends among the Apaches, there is definitely a colonial relationship here. The oppressor/colonizer can speak or behave as he likes while the oppressed/colonized are powerless. Unable to push back when pushed, the Apaches (those who are in the subordinate position) resort, like many colonized peoples, to humor and mockery to even the score. Subaltern studies anyone ?

This is all well and good, but to me the value of this book lies elsewhere. I would say it provides an extremely accurate description of cultural contrasts. Due to the presentation of the "portraits" and to Basso's writing, you get a clear explanation of Apache ways or values in personal behavior and how they see whites due to that. A question arises as to whether the Apaches need to be culturally sensitive too, or only the whites, due to past history. No matter, the Apaches at least have to be aware of the differences while the whites can ignore them. The book can be used in a first year Anthropology course or for any course or lecture on cultural relativity, developing cultural sensitivity, how to study cultural contrasts, culture clash, etc. An excellent book for such a purpose.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author details how the Apaches make fun of white people. I remember reading this book without electricity during hurricane Lily.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun ethnography!!

[Jeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply appreciate the position Basso assumes in this project.

[CORSAK fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basso was a legend - his work here really sets a good example for what fieldwork and ethnography and language preservation should look like. He really took a long time to get to know this community of people and it's just a beautiful example of how this work could really change a lot for many. I'm glad we read this for linguistic anthropology, definitely one of the readings I enjoyed most.

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read that deals with the intersection of linguistics + Western Apache culture. Would be interested to see if this still holds up contextually in the modern year. I do also appreciate the perspective that Basso wrote with, all things considered.

[Christy Holliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did not fully understand all the sociology, maybe some. But like now I feel so much more aware of the way I act that to me seems culturally normal, but to the Western Apache can be interpreted in a much different, offensive way. And with that, their whiteman impersonations are amusing.

[Anon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it would be an interesting exterior perspective of Anglo-American social norms, ended up being an extremely verbose definition of parody-type humor. The Apache clearly isn't very intelligent, judging by his jokes. One very insufferable hour.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting ethnographic study on the Western Apache. Read for a class, but really good.

[Alivia Hartz]

Read for my Cultural Anthropology class

[gideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting, although some of the writing was convoluted and repetitive. the jokes were great and insightful. western apache culture seems really nice

[Karin Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The view of white people from an Apache humor point of view is illuminating! Academic, but worth checking out.

[Clint Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good analysis, but the writing is very choppy at times

Poor phrasing made the reading hard to follow a few times. As in all anthropological writing, there are times when far more words were used than were absolutely required to communicate a point. But ultimately the analysis was grounded, avoided excessive overt bias and politicization, and avoided inconclusive speculation.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the jokes themselves (the appendix is great for this) and their line-by-line analysis, but a lot of the more general commentary in the opening chapters was dull -- it was either really obvious stuff, or else so coded in jargon that I just got annoyed. Like I said though, the jokes themselves -- the portraits of whitemen -- were really interesting, not just in the ways they worked, but in the ways they gave the reader a little view into the culture. One of my favorite things was that apparently Western Apaches find it truly odd that white ppl get angry and yell at machines when they don't work. They also think it's weird how often we state the obvious. I love knowing about all the ways other cultures find white Americans strange.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was excited to read this book in class (analyzing cultures through jokes sounded like fun), I was dissapointed to find that much of the book was used to analyze the practice of joke making itself and cited only a few specific jokes.
None the less, as analytical books go, this was a well written book that was easy to follow for someone without much experience in Anthropological sciences and had some interesting comments to make.

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting book. It analyzes the difference in the "Whiteman" culture from the Western Apache by looking at the linguistic differences. The first half does this by looking at how the Western Apache joke by mimicking English speakers. The first chapter however, focuses on the use of the word "Whiteman" in different Native American cultures.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Language is stylized by our perception of the other relative to ourself.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read and it is filled with interesting anecdotes. In particular, an analogy is presented for the development of relationships, the wisdom of which I hope to always carry with me.

[Stableboy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine if you like Socio-Linguistics, but overall uninteresting and pretty obvious stuff.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely dated, so seemingly obvious things are the focus but it's an interesting look into one culture that gets you thinking about how people communicate humor in different ways.

[Pancha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very academic in tone, with lots of ethnographic chatter. I would not call this a fun read, although it did have some humorous moments.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Myra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it twice. The culture of the Apache from the White Man's eyes - definitely not what I expected or would hope to expect. Complicated read, but quite interesting.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter but it seems like it only skims the surface.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

For linguistic anthro.

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Ling Anthro Class